‘Nothing is sacred’ from thieves

Superintendent Joe Prendergast has declared that “nothing is sacred”, following numerous burglaries in which schools, parish centres, community centres and even Portlaoise hospital have all been hit.

Supt Joe Prendergast was speaking after Portlaoise Parish Centre was twice targeted by a gang of thieves over the Christmas period. A car was used to smash open the glass doors of the building on one occasion, while just two nights later one of the thieves cut his arm when the group again smashed open the door.

Supt Prendergast said the gardaí are acting on the assumption that the same group may have been involved in both incidents and it is believed the men are local.

Seperately, thieves struck at the Emo Community Centre on Tuesday, January 6, stealing a quantity of cash taken.

In another incident, a man in his 20s has been arrested in relation to a burglary and the attempted taking of a vehicle at Portlaoise hospital on Saturday, January 10.

And the gardaí have contacted the county’s schools to give security advice on the storage of laptops and computer equipment, after a number of schools were hit by thieves within the last month.